Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole - Layered, New Mexican Style

Layered enchiladas- a family favorite.

Enchiladas New Mexican Style

This easy make-and-bake gluten-free casserole recipe is perfect for a weeknight supper or a pot luck dinner. Especially during all the pre-holiday mishegas. Use gluten-free corn tortillas. Make it as spicy or as mild as your taste buds prefer.

Enchiladas New Mexican style aren't always rolled; the tortillas are layered in a baking dish, much like Italian lasagna. My nuevo filling is chicken and artichokes tossed in fresh lime juice and garlic. A quickie green chile sauce smothers the whole thing. Divine. If you'd like to make a more classic style green chile sauce, try my green chile recipe here.

Ingredients:

For the sauce-

2 cups GF chicken broth

2-3 tablespoons sweet rice flour

1/2 teaspoon cumin, to taste

1/2 teaspoon hot pepper, smoky chipotle or cayenne, to taste

1 cup chopped fire roasted green chiles- mild or hot, to taste

For the enchiladas-

10 GF white corn tortillas

Olive oil

2-2 1/2 cups hand torn cooked chicken pieces

1 10-oz. package frozen artichoke hearts, cooked, drained

4 cloves garlic, minced

Juice from 1 big juicy lime

1/2 - 1 teaspoon cumin, to taste

1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning or chili powder

Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste

4 oz. Cheddar or Jack cheese, shredded

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 350ºF. Lightly oil a 8 x 11" or 9 x 12" baking dish.

Make your sauce by heating the broth to almost a simmer. Add the rice flour and whisk smooth. Continue to heat just until the sauce thickens.

Add the cumin, hot pepper and green chiles and stir well to combine. [You can heat the sauce either in a sauce pan on the stove top, or in a large Pyrex cup in the microwave.]

Make your filling by combining the chicken, artichokes, garlic, lime juice, cumin, Old Bay Seasoning, sea salt, and pepper, in a bowl. Toss well to coat.

Add about 3/4 of the shredded cheese and mix. Set aside the remaining cheese for the topping.

Pour about 3/4 cup of the green chile sauce into the bottom of the baking dish.

Cutting some of the tortillas in half to make straight edges, layer five corn tortillas in the bottom of the baking dish. Brush with a little olive oil.

Spoon in the chicken filling, and spread it evenly in the pan. Top with five more corn tortillas, cutting some of them to fit against the sides. Brush these with a little olive oil.

Pour the remaining enchilada sauce all over the top, slowly, using a small spatula or knife to make room around the edges of the tortillas, so that the sauce can seep in all around and reach the bottom.

Sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese on top.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the enchiladas are bubbling around the edges and heated all the way through.

For those with big appetites, serve with seasoned rice, or refried beans, or sides of guacamole and sour cream. In the summer, I serve this with a baby greens salad spiked with fresh fruit.